De’Anthony Thomas shows promise as a punt returner for Chiefs

Thursday’s Bengals-Chiefs exhibition featured four return touchdowns, three of which were scored by Kansas City in a 41-39 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.

The first of the Chiefs’ return scores was tallied by rookie kick returner De’Anthony Thomas, who sprinted away for an 80-yard first quarter touchdown.

On the play, Thomas caught the punt on the far side of the field, shaking off a collision with Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick in the process. From there, Thomas reversed field to his right, where he had plenty of space. Once he found a lane and got through, the Chiefs’ fourth-round pick was gone.

An Oregon product, Thomas is getting a shot to replace the departed Dexter McCluster on punts. He only helped his cause Thursday night.

As a Raiders fan, I dread this guy. I thought he was great value in that round. Like McCluster, I can’t imagine him being a big producer on offense….but he could be that pain in the ass that gets a punt and returns it in field goal range late in a game.

utchief says:Aug 8, 2014 3:01 AM

That return was a thing of beauty. Imagine what he can do for the offense if the Chiefs can get him the ball in space.

I was in the stands, and I watched that play with my own two eyes. Let me tell you, when he caught that ball I thought he was stupid. I was looking for a fair catch. This dude has BALLS! He took a hit, spun off of it, and ran it back for a touchdown. Trust me when I say this, SPEED KILLS.